Behind the Curtain: Watanabe set to leave 'The King and I'

By MATT WINDMANJune 25, 2015

Watanabe leaving 'The King and I'

Japanese actor Ken Watanabe, who received respectful reviews as the King of Siam in Lincoln Center Theater's revival of "The King and I" (even though it was hard to understand him much of the time), will leave the production on July 12. Jose Llana ("Here Lies Love," "Spelling Bee") will play the role for 11 weeks beginning July 14. On September 27, Hoon Lee (the Cinemax series "Banshee") will assume the part.

'Beautiful' to perform free concert at SummerStage

The cast of "Beautiful: The Carole King Musical" will perform much of the show's score at a free Central Park concert on Aug. 3 as part of the SummerStage series. This marks the first Broadway musical to take part in a SummerStage event. The role of Carole King is currently being played by Canadian actress Chilina Kennedy.

Sutton Foster to host National High School Musical Theater Awards

Sutton Foster will host the National High School Musical Theater Awards on Monday night at Broadway's Minskoff Theatre. It will feature performances from fifty-two high school students from around the country who won regional competitions for their performances in high school musicals.

Perez Hilton to lead 'Full House! The Musical!'

Can you see Perez Hilton as Bob Saget? The notorious celebrity blogger will portray patriarch Danny Tanner in the upcoming parody "Full House! The Musical!," a parody of the '90s television sitcom by the people behind "Bayside! The Musical!" and "Showgirls! The Musical." It will play Theater 80 in the East Village beginning in September.

Michael C. Hall meets David Bowie in new musical

Michael C. Hall, who recently played the title role in "Hedwig and the Angry Inch," will star in "Lazarus," David Bowie and Enda Walsh's ("Once") new drama with songs about an alien who lands on Earth. It will premiere Off-Broadway at New York Theatre Workshop at the end of the year. It is based the novel "The Man Who Fell to Earth," which was made into a 1976 film with Bowie.

Metcalf replaces Marvel in 'Misery'

Laurie Metcalf ("Roseanne") will co-star with Bruce Willis in the upcoming stage adaptation of Stephen King's thriller "Misery," which will play Broadway in the fall. She is taking over for Elizabeth Marvel ("House of Cards"), who had to withdraw due to scheduling conflicts. Metcalf is currently appearing with Alec Baldwin in Arthur Miller's "All My Sons" in East Hampton.

Spotted …

Stephen Colbert at "The Tempest" at Shakespeare in the Park … Barry Manilow at "Something Rotten!" … Christopher Lloyd and Dick Cavett at "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time" … Clay Aiken at "A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder" … Ira Glass at "Significant Other."